2026 Collie Battery Emergency Services Fund (CEF)

Submissions are now being accepted. Submissions close at 9:00PM 17 April 2026 (AEST).

IMPORTANT: Please read information below to assist you in completing your application online.

Welcome to the Collie Battery Emergency Services Fund online grant application service, powered by SmartyGrants. This Community Benefit Fund is administered by Community Enterprise Foundation™ and made possible by the generous support of Neoen's Collie Battery.

The Collie Battery is located in a Bushfire Prone Area (BFPA) as per the Western Australian Government’s Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) and maintains a high bushfire risk.

To go above & beyond in its approach to bushfire risk mitigation, Neoen is setting up a dedicated Emergency Services Fund.

This fund will be administered by the Community Enterprise Foundation and aims to invest in:

  1. Improving the resourcing capabilities of the five Volunteer Bushfire Brigades (VBFB) within the Shire of Collie and the Collie Volunteer Fire and Rescue Services (Collie VFRS).
  2. Other local projects that support bushfire mitigation around the Collie Battery asset site and minimise the risk of a fire emergency in the town of Collie, Western Australia (WA).

PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY

Applicant Eligibility:

The funding must only be used for Shire of Collie Volunteer Bushfire Brigades and the Collie VFRS to help mitigate the bushfire risk surrounding Neoen’s Collie Battery and in the town of Collie, WA. There are 5 volunteer BFB’s within the Collie of Shire Bushfire Brigades.

  • Allanson VBFB
  • Cardiff VBFB
  • Harris River VBFB
  • Preston Road VBFB
  • Worsley VBFB
  • Collie Volunteer Fire and Rescue Service

Primary Contact

Darren Robinson

Designation: Chief Bushfire Control Officer

E: colliechief@outlook.com

M: +61 403 902 032

Secondary Contact

Kohdy Flynn

Designation: CESM

E: Kohdy.flynn@collie.wa.gov.au

M: +61 476 850 076

Project Eligibility:

This Fund will prioritise grant allocation towards projects delivering maximum benefit to the protection of areas surrounding the Collie Battery site and to the well-being of communities living in and around the town of Collie, WA.

 Priority may be given to the needs of the volunteer brigade closer to caring after the community and region closer to our Collie Battery. These include:

  1. Purchase of equipment that help with firefighting and response in the region
  2. Improvements to facilities used by the Shire of Collie Volunteer Bushfire Brigades
  3. Emergency relief support to community organisations and facilities affected by climate change and disaster-related incidents
  4. Capability development for volunteers and personnel supporting bushfire prevention, mitigation and emergency services. Examples include on & off-road emergency driver training, chainsaw training, first aid, bushfire emergency training/refresher.

Project Supporting Documentation:

Financials

  • Current signed Audited Financial Statements: for the Applicant Organisation and any Project Partner/s.
  • If your organisation is not required to audit your financials, please provide a profit and loss statement as a minimum and a balance sheet if available. Please also include a current bank statement.   

Project Budget

  • There is no minimum or maximum limit of funding per application. This Fund allows distribution of up to $105,000 annually. The Local Advisory Committee will review all applications and decide on how much funding should be awarded to eligible projects.
  • Please ensure that your budget and/or supporting documentation clearly shows how the funds requested will be spent.
  • Do not forget to include your contribution to the project and any in-kind support.

 Quotes

  • Quotes are required for all budget items over $5,000.
  • If you have conducted this project/program before, include copies of invoices / receipts that substantiate this request.

APPLICANT QUERIES

For queries about the guidelines, deadlines, or questions in the form, please contact the Community Enterprise Foundation on 1300 304 541 during business hours or email foundation.mailbox@bendigoadelaide.com.au and quote your submission number.

If you need more help using this form, download the Help Guide for Applicants or check out Applicant Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)

NAVIGATING (MOVING THROUGH) THE APPLICATION FORM

On every screen (page of the form) you will find a Form Navigation contents box, this links directly to every page of the application. Click the link to jump directly to the page you want.

You can also click 'next page' or 'previous page' on the top or bottom of each page to move forward or backward through the application.

SAVING YOUR DRAFT APPLICATION

If you wish to leave a partially completed application, press 'save and close' and log out. When you log back in and click on the 'My Submissions' link at the top of the screen, you will find a list of any applications you have started or submitted. You can reopen your draft application and start where you left off.

You can also download any application, whether draft or completed, as a PDF. Click on the 'Download PDF' button located at the bottom of the last page of the application form.

SUBMITTING YOUR APPLICATION

You will find a Review and Submit button at the bottom of the Navigation Panel. You need to review your application before you can submit it.

Once you have reviewed your application you can submit it by clicking on 'Submit' at the top or bottom of the screen or on the navigation panel. You will not be able to submit your application until all the compulsory questions are completed and there are no validation errors.

Once you have submitted your application, no further editing or uploading of support materials is possible.

When you submit your application, you will receive a confirmation email with a copy of your submitted application attached. This will be sent to the email you used to register.

If you do not receive a confirmation of submission email, then you should presume that your submission has NOT been submitted.

Hint: also check the email hasn't landed in your spam or junk email folder.

ATTACHMENTS AND SUPPORT DOCUMENTS

You may need to upload/submit attachments to support your application. This is very simple but requires you to have the documents saved on your computer, or on a storage device.

You need to allow enough time for each file to upload before trying to attach another file. Files can be up to 25MB each; however, we do recommend trying to keep files to a maximum of 5MB – the larger the file, the longer the upload time.

COMPLETING AN APPLICATION IN A GROUP/TEAM

A number of people can work on an application using the same log in details as long as only one person is working at a time. Ensure you save as you go.

SPELL CHECK

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